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MINISTER of Foreign Affairs Senator Kamina Johnson Smith has admitted that the plan by Caricom leaders to introduce the right for nationals to unrestricted freedom to travel, live, and work in member countries by March 30, 2024 could be difficult to achieve.
But Johnson Smith is adamant that this is a step in the right direction and every effort should be made to ensure it becomes a reality.
“Will we make 2024? I cannot lay my head on the block to say we will make March 31, 2024. But it is an admirable goal and it is one which Jamaica supports,” said Johnson Smith as she responded to a question from the Jamaica Observer during a post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday.
During the recent 45th Regular Meeting of the Caricom Heads of Government, in Port of Spain, Trinidad, the leaders agreed to amend the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas to guarantee all Caricom nationals freedom of movement and residence.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Kamina Johnson Smith paying keen attention to a question during a post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)
Chairman of Caricom Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit made the announcement during a press conference in which he said the free movement will apply to member states that are part of the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME).
According to Skerrit, while the regional leaders understood that there would be challenges for some, “we are committed to this”, as he argued that this would be a fundamental part of the integration architecture.
On Wednesday Johnson Smith accepted that Jamaica will need to amend a raft of legislation and this would also be an issue for other Caricom member states.
She said Jamaica is now going through the process of recognising the legislation which will have to be amended.
Celebrating 50 years of Caricom
While she did not name Jamaica’s Caribbean Community (Free Movement of Skilled Persons) Act, Johnson Smith hinted that this will be among those which will need urgent amendment.
She told the media briefing that Jamaica will also have to be looking at legislation regarding Customs, immigration, and the rights of access to schools and health, which some Observer sources have pointed out will all have to go through an often lengthy legislative process.
According to Johnson Smith, issues such as the use of passports, the national identification systems in some countries, and other national identifications will also have to be addressed.
“So heads embraced a grand political will to say let us move towards this. It has been 50 years since we have been talking about this thing, we have to press to move everything forward.
“As I said earlier, it is an ambitious timeline I think that has been set, but I think the sense was that if a timeline is not set then efforts won’t be made to work towards a goal,” added Johnson Smith.
She noted that issues such as the double verification which has affected Jamaicans wanting to move to other Caricom states will be removed and this should be a win for Jamaicans who want to live and work in other islands or for Caricom nationals who want to set up home in Jamaica.
During the press conference following the heads of government meeting in Trinidad, Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley said the new agreement will move beyond the free movement of skills to freedom of movement of people.
Citizens of Caricom states will also have access to primary and emergency health care, education and primary, pre-primary and secondary education in each member state. Those rights will be added to the right to social security that exists for skilled nationals who now enjoy freedom of movement within the community.
“There has to be a minimum set of rights guaranteed for the movement of citizens,” Mottley explained as she added that an arrangement has been agreed for financing the availability of those social services in all member states.
“We are looking at the Caricom Development Fund as being able to put in place the mechanism to guarantee that each country brings its minimum level of services up to the same acceptable period and level,” Mottley said.
She indicated that the time between now and March 30 next year will be used to allow for governments within Caricom to be able to implement the decision without the new regime being open to legal challenges.
“The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which did not exist 30 or 35 years ago, imposes certain precepts upon us that, unless we carve it out, will be there to make countries liable,” added Mottley.
She said the objective was to ensure that free movement within the community takes place in a manner that is orderly, effective, and that gives true expression to the aim of heads of government, while not exposing governments to any problems that they would not have otherwise anticipated because of how the treaty is currently drafted.
The Caricom leaders informed that the status quo would remain for Haiti, which will not be part of the free movement provisions.
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